manila peninsula siege (mahaba-habang op-ed)

My mum woke me up with a frantic call around 10 am. And no one with the slightest respect for me wakes me up on my dayoff.

"Rin, sina Trillanes, nasa Ayala! Nasa channel 7. Ang pogi!"

Sure they were, this is just another Oakwood, I thought. Another reason why Page 1 would be late (ang geek). I was still in the news section then and had to help out on the front page when Trillanes took over Oakwood in 2003. And, if I remember correctly, it simply took pleas from the soldiers' mothers for them to end the mutiny.

First edition was finished a little before midnight then.

By noon, I was waiting for Mrs. Trillianes to spank some sense into his son, but news said PNP gave them the 3 pm deadline to surrender in peace, else they would force their way in the posh Manila Peninsula.

I had lunch, watched footages primarily to catch the print people I know on TV, wondered if Lloyd and I would be able to watch "Enchanted," surfed eBay, waited for Trillanes to wave the white flag, and wondered why the hell senior-citizen former VP Teofisto Guingona is walking with those losers.

"Mali-mali na yata si Guingona," I thought.

An hour lapsed after the deadline and by 4 am nothing is happening yet, I placed my bid on a Ralph Lauren wallet.

By 4:30, police declared "heightened alert" for the whole Metro Manila. I saw Tammy of 2bU, Gil and Julie from PDI, and Azhel of Malaya in the Pen lobby. Nice.

Roughly 15 minutes later, tanks were already rolling on Makati Avenue. Marines in full battle gear were deployed in the Pen area. I called to check if Lloyd (kinda clueless in the office), my cuz (deadlined in Pagcor), my mum (shopping in Shopwise) and my nephew (in school) were safe.

I was thinking the government is overreacting. I mean, tanks (that I later on found out were "APCs" or armored personnel carriers; tangke still hardcore, though) on Edsa are too much. It's not YET fucking martial law. Trillianes and his troop are only what, 40-strong? And the deployed more than a hundred officers.

A formation of soldiers framed the Pen, most media people were cordoned off although the persistent ones managed their way in, GMA finally arrived in Malacañang to have an emergency meeting with the security group. I can't help thinking the b*tch is really responsible for the simultaneuos explosions in Glorietta and Congress which left several dead and scores injured.

She deserves to be kicked off the Palace since she's just FG's dummy, but I don't really approve of Trillanes' plan to enact that. Trillianes is not Gringo, he doesn't have the charisma, the capability, the ability to pull it off and get away with it (which Honasan did quite literally). 

Where the hell are his guards? Arnold Clavio asked Judge Pimentel if the senator's escorts didn't restrict him to get out of the Makati RTC, but the judge refused to comment.

Then there were shots.

Warning shots, they said. Oh shit, this is real, I said. Kawawa naman si Miko sa day desk, at lahat ng tatamaan ng The Request.

The defectors said they would die for their cause. I was glued to the news till Magdalo declared they'll surrender. One of our TV sets was tuned in to GMA, the other is on ABS-CBN. Apparently, ABS wins this time.

Sorry mga Kapuso, but kudos to Pinky Webb and Ces Drilon for staying inside the Pen, deglamorized and all. I was surprised these senior anchorpersons were sent on the field to cover, and I am so tempted to e-mail Ces that the animal-print headband doesn't really go well with the black-and-white kaftan and chandelier earrings. GMA-7 pulled out their reporters from the site, I thought Inquirer did, too, till I saw Julie, Gil and fotog Jim Guiao on screen.

I quite freaked out when the APC rammed into the hotel lobby and tear-gas were thrown inside. I rushed into my room and prayed for the trapped media people and civilians. A shift of beats and it could have been Alli or Margaux there.

These are the moments that reminds me that being a journalist is a calling---pretty much like being a priest or a doctor. I remembered my month-long stint as a Metro reporter when I covered the Valentine's Day bombing in Ayala. After doing rounds in the presintos and courts, I dropped by the Greenbelt chapel, played emo and prayed for an, ehem, boyfriend, then boom! Three buses exploded on Edsa and I chased the story with other journalists while in a dress with a heavy, ancient laptop in tow.

God granted me not just the boyfriend but also the realization that I am not cut-up for news---daily doses of negative stuff and too much exposure to idiot politicians might drive me to a shrink. Besides, bad news is bad for the skin.

I have very high respects for news reporters, though, but I'd rather write about the latest lip gloss and current hemlines than headlines. I need a controlled environment.

Some people forwarded messages such as: "Sayang naman yung Pen!," "Sinira nila yung Manila Peninsula, ang ganda kaya there," "Makapasok lang ng hotel, kahit ano gagawin."

I don't really care much about the damages to the Pen. Yes, the foreign guests evacuated the area and it will suffer losses. Yes, it's sad that the glamorous five-star hotel was torn and would carry the coup-d'-etat stigma, but it's THE PEN, a franchise off the international chain! They could replace the stuff and rehabilitate the building for an amount; employ marketing tactics and assure everyone of safety and soft sheets. Oakwood evolved into Ascott and I've heard is doing well as a luxury hotel.

But the possible harm and death inflicted to civilians and media people around the area? Those cannot be repaired. The damn senator's stupid impulses put a lot of people in danger. We are on international news again and foreigners would think the government is not unlike the Burmese junta. Investors, tourists, probably even international performers would back out. The slowly strengthening dollar could lose it's hold. Stocks might go down. People would feel even less secured.

We don't need GMA, but we don't need someone with obviously no clear mandate on leadership who thinks people would follow him on the streets to topple the administration just like that either! Feeling ni Trillianes sha si Forrest Gump, sad. A sadder fact is that I voted for coup-hungry, rally-happy dude in the recent elections.

It was a Thursday, a regular work day to most employees. My boyfriend is just in PBcom, and I was thinking if Magdalo resisted arrest, the military could have easily taken over the buildings in the entire stretch of Ayala. I may be too pessimistic but there could have been an unnecessary bloodbath, just because of Trillanes' fucking WHIM to change the world.

Now a curfew was imposed midnight-5am in Metro Manila and Central and Southern Luzon. Such never happened in the metro since martial law. Is a military rule in the works? Not impossible. Scary facts remain that the Marcoses are back in power, we have an evil of a president, and the people are getting more and more frustrated with most sporting dreams to flee the country to work and live abroad.

I don't want to think we are hopeless, the Philippines is a beautiful country, but we are severly mismanaged. We lack credible, legitimate leaders (one of the reasons why Pacquiao has been glorified as a "hero"---he gave the saviour-feel to the desperate---"a balm on broken skin" ika nga ni Lourd).

I recently saw a homeless man licking sauce off a fishball tray from the trash on the way to dinner with Lloyd. My heart was broken. I didn't give him anything because it's against my belief to "tolerate" beggars (and I still regret not giving him food till now). But how many more Filipinos lick trash daily to survive?

They say we are poor, yet we have free-standing Louis Vuitton, Pradat, Tod's, Bulgari and soon, Marc Jacobs boutiques in Makati. We have BMW and Mercedes-Benz hubs, and people actually buy these stuff.

They say we are poor because Pinoys are tamad... but what if, just what if that homeless man tried to find a job before he was a hobo but wasn't lucky or qualified enough to have one?

No man could single-handedly save this country, especially not while holding hostage a hotel. We toppled Erap off and I thought we replaced him with "the lesser evil." Apparently that's not the case: ZTE, Jose Pidal, Garci... the list goes on. But if GMA steps down Malacañang who would replace her?

Not Noli or Loren or De Venecia. Hell, no. This country needs a new line of leaders, I just hope they step up in time before we go further down the rabbit hole.